Dear Friends,
The tragic death of Celebrity Robin Williams has put a spotlight on the subject of mental illness which leads to suicide. Sadly, in the United States alone, it is estimated that one person commits suicide every 12 - 15 minutes. The recent decision to spend $75M on the Golden Gate Bridge suicide deterrent netting, and the climbing rate of death due to suicide are indicators that certain members of our society may be facing a potential epidemic of hopelessness. I myself have battled with boughts of what I would call (and could be clinically labeled) severe depression, even to the point of planning my own demise down to the last fatal detail. Thankfully I have a good mind, and I’m versed in cognitive regression therapy, and so I have been able to stay alert to my moods and overall mental state, keeping myself, as it were, away from the real potential that I may follow-through with some deadly plan.
In past posts I have alluded to an event from my childhood where my mother committed suicide. I was 14 years old when I came home from 8th grade class to find my mother drowned in the bathtub. I’ll spare you the details of her plot (I don’t want to give anybody a method plan), but it is suffice to say that she was indeed very serious about her intent (obviously). At that age I was not prepared for such a loss, and looking back I can say that many of the indicators of potential danger were present. Even before my mother carried out her plan, I myself was dealing with some teenage depression issues, and I had even considered suicide with no genuine intent on following-through other than the occasional thought that “others will be better off without me here”. My mother’s death, and the manner in which it occurred, put a stamp on me at that still impressionable age, and it solidified in me an intent to never do such a thing myself, and it gave me a deep compassion for people who are suffering from mental illness and depression.
Yesterday was hard for me. Not because it reminded me of something I can never forget anyway, nor because I feel a sense of loss once more. Yesterday, and today for that matter, are hard for me because the elephant in the room is now the fact that there are thousands of hurting people on the precipice of suicide, and there is very little I can do to help those individuals who are in such pain. For me, this tragedy is all to familiar, and today my compassion for those who are suffering is engulfing my thoughts and feelings. I can’t help but consider the thousands of nameless, faceless people who’s deaths may be preventable, and how I may help them. If you or someone you know is hurting in this way PLEASE contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Someone is available to talk 24/7.
Signed,
A Son
The tragic death of Celebrity Robin Williams has put a spotlight on the subject of mental illness which leads to suicide. Sadly, in the United States alone, it is estimated that one person commits suicide every 12 - 15 minutes. The recent decision to spend $75M on the Golden Gate Bridge suicide deterrent netting, and the climbing rate of death due to suicide are indicators that certain members of our society may be facing a potential epidemic of hopelessness. I myself have battled with boughts of what I would call (and could be clinically labeled) severe depression, even to the point of planning my own demise down to the last fatal detail. Thankfully I have a good mind, and I’m versed in cognitive regression therapy, and so I have been able to stay alert to my moods and overall mental state, keeping myself, as it were, away from the real potential that I may follow-through with some deadly plan.
In past posts I have alluded to an event from my childhood where my mother committed suicide. I was 14 years old when I came home from 8th grade class to find my mother drowned in the bathtub. I’ll spare you the details of her plot (I don’t want to give anybody a method plan), but it is suffice to say that she was indeed very serious about her intent (obviously). At that age I was not prepared for such a loss, and looking back I can say that many of the indicators of potential danger were present. Even before my mother carried out her plan, I myself was dealing with some teenage depression issues, and I had even considered suicide with no genuine intent on following-through other than the occasional thought that “others will be better off without me here”. My mother’s death, and the manner in which it occurred, put a stamp on me at that still impressionable age, and it solidified in me an intent to never do such a thing myself, and it gave me a deep compassion for people who are suffering from mental illness and depression.
Yesterday was hard for me. Not because it reminded me of something I can never forget anyway, nor because I feel a sense of loss once more. Yesterday, and today for that matter, are hard for me because the elephant in the room is now the fact that there are thousands of hurting people on the precipice of suicide, and there is very little I can do to help those individuals who are in such pain. For me, this tragedy is all to familiar, and today my compassion for those who are suffering is engulfing my thoughts and feelings. I can’t help but consider the thousands of nameless, faceless people who’s deaths may be preventable, and how I may help them. If you or someone you know is hurting in this way PLEASE contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Someone is available to talk 24/7.
Signed,
A Son
